Commentary On 2 Thessalonians
23 May God himself the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.
25 Brothers, pray for us.
26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. 27 1 charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.
28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Paul has completed what he wanted to say to the Thessalonians. It remains only to conclude the letter in his usual style. He asks for prayers for himself and his coworkers, greets the church members to whom he has been writing, gives such a charge that he is sure the letter will be read to all, and ends with "the grace."
23 Now that the exhortations are concluded Paul passes over to prayer for his readers. The way in which he effects the transition (with the use of an adversative conjunction,73 left untranslated in NIV) indicates that it is only in the power of the God on whom he calls that his exhortation can be brought to fruition. "I have been urging you to do certain things, but it is only in God's strength that you will be able to do them" (cf. Moore, who says that the words "suggest a contrast between what is now asked of God and what was before exhorted of the converts").
The prayer is directed to "God himself, the God of peace." "Himself' reinforces what we have said above. It is only in God that the Thessalonians will be able to do what they have been asked. To describe him as "the God of peace" is peculiarly fitting in the light of the exhor tations of verses 12-13, but we cannot feel that it was elicited solely by the situation presupposed there. Paul often uses the designation, especially toward the end of his letters.74 Peace brings before us the prosperity of the whole person, prosperity in the widest sense, especially including spiritual prosperity (see on 1:1). That it should be associated with God in this way is a reminder that true peace can come only from him, and that he is such a God that peace may be said to be characteristic of him.
This epistle has had important things to say about sanctification (3:13; 4:3-8), and it is not surprising that in the concluding prayer Paul returns to the thought. The essential idea in sanctification is that of being set apart for God, but there is also the thought of the character involved in such separation. In this place Paul has both aspects in mind 75 Moreover, while there is a human element, in that one must yield oneself up to God (cf. 4:4), yet the primary thing is the power of God that enables this to be done. Thus Paul's prayer is that God will bring about this sanctification. Some translations render the next word "wholly" (e.g., RSV, Milligan, Frame, and others accept some such meaning). The word is an adjective and a compound76 of which the first part has the meaning "wholly." If the second part is to have its proper significance, we need something to bring out the thought of reaching one's proper end, the end for which one was made. The meaning is qualitative and not quantitative only. We need something like "so that you may be complete" (NIV has "sanctify you through and through").
So important is this sanctification that Paul repeats the prayer in another form, this time praying that the whole person may be preserved entire and without blame. Some interpreters see in the reference to spirit, soul, and body an indication that humans are threefold, and not twofold as a division into body and soul would imply (e.g., Marshall, Thomas).77 But this is probably to press the language beyond what is warranted. Paul is not at this point giving a theoretical description of the nature of the human constitution, but engaging in prayer. We can no more take his words here to mean that our nature is threefold than we can take some of his words elsewhere to indicate that we are twofold (body and spirit, 1 Cor. 7:34), or those of Jesus in Mark 12:30 to show that we are fourfold (heart, soul, mind, and strength). Paul simply uses this graphic form by way of insisting that the whole person, and not some part only, is involved 78 All our powers of whatever sort are to be sanctified, entirely set apart for God. This totality is brought out in another fashion in that the verb "kept" and the adjective "entire" are both singular, though they clearly are intended to apply to all three 79 In different ways Paul emphasizes that sanctification applies to the whole of our person, and is not to be restricted to any segment. The word "entire" does not differ very greatly from the earlier word rendered "through and through," though there is probably some difference of emphasis. Whereas the former word brought us the thought of "that which has attained its end," this one signifies "that which is complete in all its parts."80 It has interesting associations with sacrifice in the Greek Old Testament and elsewhere. It describes the "whole" stones that were used in making the altar, and it is used also of the victims that were offered.81 If Paul has this sacrificial usage in mind, it would fit in very well with the entire surrender of the person to God that is involved in sanctification. If the completeness of the surrender is in view in this word, it is rather the result that is in mind in the adverb rendered "blameless" (found in this epistle only in the New Testament82). The character involved in being a Christian is one that admits of only the very highest standards. Paul prays, not simply that they may live good lives, but that they may be blameless.
It is characteristic of this epistle that these words should be followed by "at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." It is clear from earlier passages that the thought of the Parousia loomed large in the thinking both of the preachers and their converts. They were looking for the coming of the day of the Lord, and it is entirely natural accordingly that Paul should refer to it. But his reference has added point, for it makes the sanctification spoken of very far-reaching. Paul is not thinking of a sanctification that may last but a little time here on earth, but of one that will continue at the Parousia. Primarily his thought is not "which will last until the Parousia" (although that is implied), but "which will exist at the Parousia."83 As we have seen, the thought of judgment is associated with the second coming. It is a fitting climax to his thought on the sanctification of believers that he looks for them to be preserved blameless not only through the changes and trials of this earthly life, but also on that dread day when they stand before the eternal Judge.
24 Paul's prayer is no despairing wail, but a cry of faith. He is supremely confident that what he has asked will be done, and this verse reveals that the ground of his trust is the nature of God. As we saw on the preceding verse, Paul was sure that the Thessalonians would be able to obey his injunctions because their resources were in God. Now we see that he is sure that God will indeed supply their need in this matter, because he is "faithful."84 Centuries before, Abraham had asked, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Gen. 18:25). Through all the intervening years the conviction that God can be depended on had sustained men and women of faith, as, indeed, it does to this day. It is not in the unstable qualities of people that trust must be placed, but in the eternal faithfulness of God. Paul does not mention the name of God, but proceeds to characterize him as "the one who calls you" (see on 2:12; 4:7-8). There may be something of a hint that God's call is always sounding in the ears of his people, so that the present call that they hear is their guarantee that God will see them through. Or it may be that God is being spoken of as "the Caller," the God who habitually calls to himself those whom he will have.
But God, besides being a Caller, is a Doer (cf. Phil. 1:6). The end of the verse fastens attention on this aspect of his being. The verbal idea is emphasized in the Greek in two ways, by the addition of "also" (God not only calls, he also acts; NIV leaves the word untranslated) and by the omission of the object (there is no "it" in the Greek). There is no real doubt as to what the object is, and its omission has the effect of fastening attention on the verb "do." The God to whom Paul prays is not a God who is inactive or ineffective. Paul thinks of him as one who will certainly bring to completion that which he has begun. "Does he speak and then not act?" (Num. 23:19). Because he is the faithful One, and because he is the One who has called them, the Thessalonians may know that he will do perfectly all that is involved in their call. It is profoundly satisfying to the believer that in the last resort what matters is not his feeble hold on God, but God's strong grip on him (cf. John 10:28-29).
25 It is easy to picture for ourselves Paul as a very great apostle ceaselessly occupied with his work of issuing directives to other people on how they should live out their faith, while he himself sits above the storm or calmly proceeds along on his undisturbed way. Such, of course, is far from being a true picture. Paul was very much caught up in the hurly-burly. He found himself in situations where he did not know how to act. Sometimes when he did act he was not at all sure that he had done the right thing (in 2 Cor. 7:8, for example, he says that he wrote a letter that he came to regret, but later did not regret; he changed his mind twice!). He was very conscious of his own limitations and knew that his only hope was in God. So quite often we find him seeking the prayers of his converts, as he does here.85 He knew that he needed their prayers just as much as they needed his. So, as now for the last time in this epistle he uses the affectionate address, "Brothers," it is to request them to pray continually (continuous tense) for him.86
26 "Greet" is the normal word in a context like this, and Paul usually ends his letters by sending greetings. As a rule, when he writes to a church he knows he does not greet friends by name, which might have been invidious. As here, he sends his greetings to all. The "all" ensures that no one is to be left out. He has spoken of some people who were loafers, and some who were weak. There were possibly others with whom he was not well pleased. But in his closing greetings he includes them all. Some have seen in the word an indication that the church was seriously divided, and, indeed, it was split into two groups (see Introduction, pp. 23-25). But this is to read far too much into the word. It is not in an especially emphatic position, and is adequately rendered by NIV.
The reference to the kiss means "Give everyone a kiss from me" (cf. 1 Cor. 16:24). Paul could not be present in person to bestow this greeting, so he wrote it. In some other places Paul urged his readers to greet one another with a holy kiss, but that is not the thought here. Paul is not telling the Thessalonians how to greet one another but sending his own affectionate greetings to all. It is clear enough that this is not meant as anything more than a customary mode of greeting, much as we today shake hands. Not a great deal is known about kissing among the early Christians, but the "holy kiss" is mentioned several times (Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:12), and a "kiss of love" is also found (1 Pet. 5:14). Evidently the custom was widely practiced in New Testament times. The practice, first taken over from the ordinary usage of secular society as a mode of greeting,87 in time came to have liturgical significance. Probably this arose from the fact that the kiss would naturally be exchanged when the believers came together for worship.88 It is usually held that the kiss was exchanged at first only between members of the same sex.89 But in the course of time men and women exchanged kisses, and Tertullian, for example, speaks of a wife kissing "any one of the brothers" (To His Wife 11.4). Understandably this led to undesirable scenes, and Clement of Alexandria speaks of people "who make the churches resound" with their kissing, and says further, "the shameless use of a kiss ... occasions foul suspicions and evil reports" (Instructor 111.11). Not surprisingly the early church councils passed a number of regulations governing the circumstances under which the kiss should be exchanged.
27 The use of the first person singular may indicate that Paul is following his practice of taking the pen to end the letter (cf. Gal. 6:11; 2 Thess. 3:17). It is not surprising that he should ask for his letter to be read to all. The word "read" will here mean "read aloud."90 We do not know how far the early church was literate, but it is not likely that all the artisan members of the church at Thessalonica could read for themselves, so that reading aloud was the way in which the contents of the letter would be made known to all. Whether this means that Paul intends the letter to be read during public worship is not clear. In time such reading came to be accepted as a mark of canonicity, a sign that the writing was accepted as sacred Scripture. But it is uncertain either how old the custom of reading such letters during the service was, or how early this signified canonicity. On the whole the likelihood is that Paul did mean the letter to be read, if not at worship, at least on the occasion when people assembled for worship (perhaps before or after the service). The point is that opportunities for those who were not leisured folk to meet were not many, and the gathering for worship would be the logical time for such a communication to be read to them all.91 This probably established a precedent. In time the kind of letters that might be read at a service was sharply delimited, and so only letters held to be canonical were read.
But if it is not surprising that Paul should ask that the letter be read, it is surprising that he does so in language of such vehemence. "I charge you before the Lord" means "I put you on your oath as Chris- tians."92 This is something that comes from Paul himself, for he says "I" and not "we." Why should Paul be so very urgent about the letter being read to all? Harnack thought that it fitted into his picture of a church in two sections, and was a way of ensuring that it was read to both. But as we have seen in the Introduction, this solution to the problems of the Thessalonian correspondence is an unlikely one. Other scholars, while rejecting Harnack's view, think that the strength of the language must point to the possibility that some of the Thessalonians would withhold the letter from others and thus instigate a deep division. Others again hold that some of the obdurate members were likely to absent themselves when the letter was read. The charge, then, is laid on the elders to ensure that all come to know the contents. The objection to all such views is the cordial tone of the letter. Paul felt deeply on the subject of division, as we see from 1 Corinthians. It is difficult to imagine him writing in the strain he has done if there were such deep and serious divisions within the Thessalonian church 93
28 It is characteristic of Paul that he brings his letters to an end, not with the customary "Farewell," but with a prayer for grace for those to whom he has written (see on 1:1 for the significance of "grace" in Christian greetings). Occasionally the prayer is shorter than this one,95 and sometimes it is longer, the longest being 2 Corinthians 13:14 with its mention of each of the Persons of the Trinity. But characteristic in each case is the prayer for grace. It is the grace of the Lord that lingers in the apostle's thoughts, just as it is the grace of the Lord with which he begins his letters 96 His own hand would seem to have penned these words in each epistle (see 2 Thess. 3:17 and note), for he took the pen from his amanuensis somewhere before the conclusion. Just where he did so in this letter is not apparent, though the use of the first person singular in verse 27 makes it appear that he wrote that verse himself.